Page 60 of Falling Princess

“You know, we could repurpose some of the Auralian History and Legends section you wrote for our poli sci monstrosity last semester for the comparative religion term paper. It might save time. Working together.”

His mouth turned up at the corners. “You just want to avoid putting any effort into religion class.”

“Maybe. Are you going to let me get away with it?” I was taken aback by my own flirtatiousness. I hadn’t meant it to come out quite so teasingly.

Lorcan cast me a sidelong glance. “Sure, Princess. My life in service to the crown.”

My stomach erupts in a flurry of butterflies. “My hero,” I said jokingly, but it came out too breathlessly to be funny.

I have got to get this...this...stupid crushunder control.

FLAME

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Glasgow in March was dreary, but the endless gray skies and crowded streets did nothing to dampen my excitement. Our small delegation—me, Cata, Bashir, and Lorcan—occupied a place somewhere between diplomats and students.

I wore my suit again, which made me look vastly out of place amongst the rest of the poster presenters. A miscalculation on my part.

I wasn’t especially pleased with how mine had turned out. My struggling plants weren’t going to impress anyone. I substituted pictures for living samples, displayed seeds, and made a brochure to give out showing how we used them for medicinal purposes. The point was to demonstrate how climate change was impacting our ability to cultivate the plants we depended upon, even in a place as relatively unspoiled as my home country.

By the end of the morning, I still had most of the printed stack.

People stopped by the table mostly to gawk at me.

“You don’t look like a princess,” one young woman told me. “You look like you work at Goldman Sachs.”

Unlike me, she wore a bright, casual dress.

“I’m a scientist, who happens to have been born into royalty.” I didn’t even try to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “Would you like a brochure?”

The woman scoffed. Unlike me, she was a proper scientist, with the coveted letters PhD next to her name on her badge. What luxury, to focus entirely on studying. I sighed wistfully.

As opposed to my credentials, which read,Princess Zosia Auralian, Student, Royals University.It was frustrating to know I looked like I’d put in the minimum effort, coasting on her title to gain access to a prestigious conference. I wanted so badly to connect with people doing the kind of work I would have done, if I had a choice. Worse, my goal of getting people interested in my country had utterly failed.

Lorcan and Cata sensed trouble and closed in from either side in a pincer move. The woman lifted her chin and moved down the line of poster presenters.

“How long do you have to stay here?” Cata asked, watching her retreating back.

“Long enough to answer questions, but since almost no one has had any, I think I’m safe to leave any time.”

“I’ll escort the princess to the next lecture,” Lorcan said, perfectly formal, without looking at me. It still made my face heat. I don’t know how to behave around him anymore.

I was constantly aware of his presence before. Now, I swear I can sense the slightest tensing of his body whenever he spots a potential threat. I can’t help looking at him every few seconds, though I try not to stare.

I feel him looking at me, too.

We avoid eye contact as much as possible. I’m trying hard to maintain a normal, if friendlier, attitude toward Lorcan. It’s a relief that Raina didn’t attend. I’m terrified she’ll pick up on just how much my feelings have changed, in such a short time.

I wandered over to Bashir’s crowded table, with Lorcan close behind. The scientist who scorned me a moment ago peered anxiously over someone’s shoulder, craning to see his exhibit. Bash’s red hair was pulled back in a messy man bun. His voice boomed over the crowd clustered around his table, and he was clearly pleased with all the attention.

“This our active volcano, Mount Vatira, or the Mountain of Fire.” Bashir grinned and pressed a button. Red lights lit up on the side of his two-foot-tall model of the island, indicating lava.

“Nice,” I muttered under my breath, feeling a bit jealous that his presentation was attracting so much attention. He really put a lot of detail into building this model. He deserves this success.

“Over here, we have the tallest mountain on the island, Mount Chióni, or the Mountain of Ice. This smaller mountain is Mount Astra. It means star mountain, because it’s low enough that the top isn’t constantly covered in clouds. You can see the whole sky from here.”

He pressed another button to show where the Sky Temple was located.

---